- Duterte to stand trial at ICC over deadly Philippines “war on drugs”
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte will face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) after judges on Thursday confirmed charges of crimes against humanity over his so-called ‘war on drugs.’ Pre-trial judges ‘unanimously confirmed all the charges … against Rodrigo Roa Duterte and committed him to trial,’ the ICC said in a statement. Duterte will be the first Asian former head of state to face trial at the ICC, which prosecutes individuals for the world’s worst crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.” (04/23/26)
- Senate Republicans clear go-it-alone path for ICE gang funding
Source: Politico
“Senate Republicans green-lit their party-line plan early Thursday morning to send tens of billions of dollars to immigration enforcement agencies in the coming years. Senators voted 50-48 to adopt a budget blueprint for legislation that could fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and other agencies for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term. The vote was almost entirely on party lines, with GOP Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only lawmakers to break ranks. The vote just after 3:30 a.m. completed the first step in the GOP’s plan to approve roughly $70 billion in additional funding without help from Democrats, who have refused to fund the immigration agencies without a slate of new restrictions on how they operate.” (04/23/26)
- Pope Leo Heading Back to Rome After Outspoken Africa Tour
Source: US News & World Report
“Pope Leo returns to Rome on Thursday after wrapping up an ambitious four-nation Africa tour in which he forcefully decried the direction of global leadership, denouncing despotism and war, and drew the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump. The first U.S. pope closed the nearly 18,000 km (11,185 miles) tour with a final Mass in a stadium in Equatorial Guinea, where tens of thousands began gathering in pouring rain before dawn for a last chance to see him. Leo told worshippers in a homily, his 25th speech over the 10-day tour, that the Christian message means ‘every people is set free from the slavery of evil.’ He urged them to live their faith with joy. The pope has taken on a new forceful speaking style during his time in Africa, in which he also visited Algeria, Cameroon and Angola.” (04/23/26)
- US, Iranian regimes in blockade stalemate as US navy secretary leaves office “immediately”
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized two vessels in the strait of Hormuz for what it called maritime violations and escorted them to Iranian shores, according to the shipping companies and Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. Wednesday’s move was the first time Iran has seized ships since the war began in late February. … Iranian officials said they had not agreed to any extension of the truce, and criticised Trump’s decision to maintain the US naval blockade. Lead Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said a full ceasefire only made sense if the blockade was lifted. … The Pentagon said the US secretary of the navy, John Phelan, would depart the office ‘effective immediately,’ without providing an explanation for his sudden exit amid the naval blockade.” (04/23/26)
- Bitcoin Price Hits Two-Month High Amid Strategy Buys
Source: Investor’s Business Daily
“The price of bitcoin continued its April surge, rebounding to prices not seen since early February. … Bitcoin Wednesday afternoon traded around $78,600, surging 3.9% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin peaked at $79,468 intraday Wednesday, marking its highest price since Feb. 2. Although bitcoin has trended higher in April, it still remains well below its October peak of $126,200. … Meanwhile, Strategy on Monday announced it acquired 34,164 bitcoin for roughly $2.54 billion, representing a price of about $74,395 per bitcoin. … With the acquisition, Strategy became the largest publicly-traded holder of bitcoin, surpassing BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which holds 806,699 bitcoin.” (04/22/26)
- Resist Beginnings: The Ancient Roman Maxim Behind the American Revolution
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin“America was built on a foundation that constitutional violations are a deadly disease. Give government an inch – and they’ll take a few thousand miles, and never stop. And before too long, it’ll get to a place where it’s no longer a Republic, but a long slow coup. Or, as the Declaration of Independence put it, eating ‘out our substance.’ Our rights. Our money. And everything in between. The solution? The ancient Roman principle behind the American Revolution.” (04/22/26)
- An Unseen Consequence of the U.S. War on Iran
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“There are, of course, consequences of the U.S. war on Iran that are easy to see. The deaths and injuries of thousands of Iranians. The deaths and injuries of dozens of U.S. soldiers. The massive destruction of homes, businesses, ships, and infrastructure in Iran and nearby countries. Gasoline prices and the prices of other things soaring. All easy to see. But there are also unseen consequences of the war and, more generally, of the U.S. government’s overall foreign policy of interventionism.” (04/22/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/04/22/an-unseen-consequence-of-the-u-s-war-on-iran/
- The nanny state being pushed
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“It is hard to believe that ‘once upon a time’ labor unions were enemies of government. Fedgov and State governments both. 150 years ago, and much more recently, the FedGov and States used the Army and National Guard (Organized Militia) to suppress labor union activities. Especially strikes. … Today, to some degree, the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. In Colorado, for example, we find the Regressive-controlled General Assembly (the Legislature, both upper and lower houses) pushing for government to treat labor unions like the senior house of the General Assembly. In some really stupid ways! Especially since what the unions want means government agencies snatching more power to micro-manage everyday life, and create opportunities for new government jobs (more government parasites) and fees and fines, and at the same time increase the incentives to shove campaign contributions into the pockets of politicians.” (04/22/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/04/22/the-nanny-state-being-pushed/
- California lawmakers threaten free speech regarding immigration groups
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Carolyn Iodice“A new bill under consideration in California is facing criticism for censoring speech about immigration. Elon Musk has claimed the bill would ‘make investigating fraud illegal.’ One opponent has dubbed it the ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act,’ named after the YouTuber known for filming alleged fraud at child care centers in Somali immigrant communities in Minnesota. But its sponsor says the bill simply protects immigrant organizations from threats of violence. So which is it? The bill, AB 2624, does two things. First, it allows people who’ve faced threats or violence for providing or receiving immigration services to join California’s ‘Safe at Home’ program, which allows people to keep their residential address out of state records. Second — and this is the part we’re focusing on — it limits what regular people are allowed to post online about immigrants and the people who help them.” (04/22/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/california-lawmakers-threaten-free-speech-regarding-immigration-groups
- Test-Score Growth Is the Best Metric We Have for Understanding School Performance
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Cory Koedel“We’ve written a lot at the Show-Me Institute lately about A–F letter grades for public schools. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) will soon begin assigning these grades to all schools and districts under an executive order from Governor Kehoe. Legislation to codify the order may follow, depending on how the 2026 session unfolds. A central component of these letter grades is student growth. Growth measures how much students learn over the course of a year, based on state assessments. … I’ve studied academic growth extensively and believe it is the most accurate indicator of school effectiveness we have. No other measure comes close.” (04/22/26)
- Yours, Mine, or Ours? Liberals Need a Theory of the State
Source: Liberalism.org
by Michael C Munger“In policy debates, some see state action as the obvious solution; others say the same about civil society and/or markets. But listen closely, and you’ll often find that everyone’s gone negative: They have lots of bad things to say about the other side, and not much in favor of their own. That’s the ‘pretty pig’ problem: We can all see the downsides — many of them quite real — with one system, and so we conclude, a bit too quickly, that the other one must be better. As I’ve noted before, that approach leads to disagreement without engagement, as the advocates on both sides ignore the problems of their own preferred system: The state I can imagine is clearly a good solution to the real world commercial system I’m immersed in, but that state doesn’t exist, and its powers are not stable or reliable.” [editor’s note: Nietzsche offered a neat, concise, and true “theory of the state” … “Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has it has stolen.” – TLK] (04/22/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/yours-mine-or-ours-liberals-need-a-theory-of-the-state
- Easier to Die, Harder to Vote: The Rigged Architecture of the Warfare State
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead“The Trump administration has spent months demonizing immigrants — detaining them, deporting them, tearing apart families, and casting them as threats to national security. And yet, when it comes time to fill the ranks of its endless wars, those same individuals—green card holders, refugees, asylum seekers, even undocumented men—suddenly become expendable assets. Too dangerous to belong. Not too dangerous to die. Increasingly, the same could be said of all of us. We are all being viewed as potential threats by the government. … While the government is making it easier for Americans to be conscripted and killed in war, it is simultaneously working to make it harder for us to have any say in the decisions that send our young men and women to war in the first place.” (04/22/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 04/22/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran’s IRGC Seizes Two Ships in Strait of Hormuz, Israel Kills Journalist in Lebanon, and More.” (04/22/26)
- The Charles C.W. Cooke Podcast, episode 102
Source: National Review
“All About Gerrymandering — with Sean Trende.” (04/22/26)
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 04/22/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Lt Col Karen Kwiatkowski: Trump Orders Hormuz Blockade After Talks Fail — Ceasefire at Risk?” (04/22/26)
- Kibbe on Liberty, episode 382
Source: Free the People
“FISA 702 is Unconstitutional | Guest: Rep. Thomas Massie.” (04/22/26)